


Acts of Commitment

by silasfinch



Series: Acts of Faith [7]
Category: Saving Hope
Genre: F/F, Family Fluff, Future Fic, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-22 03:49:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11371968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silasfinch/pseuds/silasfinch
Summary: The countdown to the wedding is not entirely smooth but they are stronger for the trial





	Acts of Commitment

**Author's Note:**

> So I felt compelled to write some more of Maggie and Sydney's story because I enjoyed writting the last one so much.  
> Once again I am not a scholor of Jewish Traditions but I consulted and many sources as I could within the bounds of Google and real life scholorship. 
> 
> Thanks to E for an enthuastic pre- read once again. 
> 
> I will probbly be building on this little universe.

**Acts of Commitment**

**Pacifying: 6 Months Before**

 

Sydney was avoiding her.

 

Not in such a way to be of concern. Her fiancée was always scrupulously careful about communicating well to the point of prompting teasing amongst her new colleagues about the 'Little, Little Wife". Maggie knew that Sydney still blamed herself for most of their early troubles and did not want to repeat the same mistakes in the future.

 

Hence the ambiguous text:

 

"I'm sorry, gone for a walk, will be back before dinner."

 

Reassuring yet vague.

 

Classic Katz II

 

Syd's baseless desire for acts of atonement was the root of the issue.

 

They were finalising the guest list; it was proving to be no easy feat. As people from several countries, cultures, and customs were involved. Truthfully once she had her network of family and close friends sorted, Maggie was relatively easy going about the particulars.

 

You could call Sydney Katz many things.

 

Maggie frequently composed lists of adjectives to describe her when they were on opposite shifts.

 

Easy going would not make the Top 100.

 

A confrontation had been building for weeks.

 

It was a daunting process combining traditional Jewish elements into a same-sex ceremony. Syd, Abraham and a local rabbi had spent last long weekend conferring over the latest opinions on admiring the ancient contract language, circling ceremonies and invocations.

 

Sydney is uncharacteristically somber as she observed Maggie study the proposed outlines, stumbling over the Hebrew.

 

"I am sorry for doing this to you."

 

 

 

 

She had blurted the comment before slipping out the apartment before Maggie could formulate a reply or reassure her.

 

Hence why Maggie was clambering awkwardly into the attic library of Syd's cousin Owen, thankful for both his easy understanding and support of them both.

 

Her fiancée had a disconcerting habit of trying to appear smaller than she was when upset. It was a trick of the shoulders and her posture, and it always made Maggie sad as it was a symbol of the years of repression and fear.

 

A wounded cat, waiting for the consequences, both afraid and resigned.

 

"6 minutes and 43 seconds."

 

Sydney jumped and whirled around from her position by the window.

 

"What?" her voice was scratchy from disuse

 

"It is my average when it comes to you. It took me that long to like you during the strip rant. It took me that long to obsess over kissing you mid professional standard lecture. It took me about that long to be heartbroken when Hershel came on the scene, and I wanted to marry you 5 minutes after landing in Heathrow, which is impressive considering 14 hours in economy class does nobody any favors."

 

Maggie slid down next to Sydney on the window seat, eying the low ceiling suspiciously and taking the other doctors hand.

 

"My point is you have got to stop thinking that you owe me perfection as an act of atonement. I agreed to fly with you to England knowing things were messy, unresolved and it was probably recklessly impulsive. I decided to marry you involved guidelines and all. It's my risk to take not your burden to carry. You cannot spend the next 50 years balancing and counterbalancing your perceived sins like this"

 

Maggie pulled and entwined their limbs in a familiar pattern.

 

"You are going to set up sessions with Abraham or Rabbi Goldberg to discuss these feelings in detail, and we can make a deal to have two major freakouts each."

 

Sydney laughed softly "Ok, but I reserve the right to ask for a continuance at a later date." Sydney said before peppering Maggie's face with kisses.

 

"I reserve mine for when my brother starts hitting on the nurses and my mother brings out my punk med student phase photos."

 

As always Maggie felt an echo triumph when she saw Sydney's fearful expression melt into to laughter.

She had always craved and thrived on having projects.

 

Making Sydney forget her troubles and believe might just be her favorite work of a lifetime.

 

 

 

 

**Principles: 3 Months Before**

 

Alex Reid was more than a little jealous of Maggie Lin.

 

It was her casual certainty that did it.

 

This Zen-like state was the exact opposite of her experiences with Charlie.

 

Or her experience with Martha for that matter.

 

Sigmund Fraud would have a field day

 

It was an unattractive character flaw to admit, but part of her had resented the younger doctor's impulse to transfer to London, beyond that of missing a friend. The move was a definite retroactive step in the competitive hierarchy of young surgeons, but her friend did not seem to even flinch at the prospect, just like she derailed her boards to deliver Luke.

 

There did not appear to be room for doubt, even when Alex had planted it there herself

 

Maggie was all in for love.

 

Alex had no doubt she would have been on a plane to London within a week had Syd made her original flight.

 

This fact is why the mother of two was currently following her best friend around on a bride errand run. There were the final dress fittings, consultations with the caterer and signing for the reception venue.

 

Why she had diligently been learning passages in Hebrew to be able to serve as a witness at the pre-wedding ceremonies.

 

"I am going to have to update all my cooking books for Kosher recipes, shouldn't be too hard, Google can tell you anything nowadays." Rosemary O’Neil – Lin remarked looking up from papers she was grading while waiting for Maggie to finish the alterations.

 

"You seem to be taking the prospect of a lesbian Jewish daughter in law, in stride," Alex said thinking ruefully of Martha's reaction if the situations were different.

 

" Maggie and I have had our battles over the years. She has two stubborn bloodlines running through her veins, and I tried to influence her career path and relationships earlier on. It wasn’t my smartest move. She's made her choice, and it's a wise one, they match well. Besides have you seen the way Syd dotes on her? They are married in all but name."

 

"That is very true. Maggie practically beams at every new stage of their relationship. She sneaks into Syd's lectures and frames every paper that gets published."

 

Rosemary laughed, "and I get copies!"

 

"I wish I could be half as sure in my own life."

 

"Who knows? Weddings have a way of putting things in perspective. Especially when you are serving as a witness - maybe your duties will give you clarity." Rosemary commented before chuckling drily.

 

"You could always ask Sydney for advice; I'm sure she would be willing to offer her unique brand of guidance. My nephew is no longer on academic probation thanks to her online tutoring, and the most impressive timetabling I've ever seen."

 

"Yes I don't think Hurricane Katz and Reid genetics go well together but give me another month of professional and personal indecision and we'll see."

 

 

 

 

 

**Preparations: 1 Month Before**

 

He liked and loved all versions of his twin sister.

 

His partner in crime since they could walk.

 

His confidant when the divorce got particularly nasty and their two cultures clashed bitter and angry ways.

 

His fellow wild child when they had gone through a rebellious stage and gave new definition to the phrase 'falling in with the wrong crowd.'

 

His savior when he fell off that preverbal type rope of fun versus the ability to function; discreetly bailing him out of trouble and wrestling his life into a semblance of order.

 

Contented Maggie was probably his favourite version.

 

Sitting next to her as she all but swooned over her future wife giving a lecture confirmed this fact for him.

 

Declan Lin hadn't been remotely surprised by Maggie’s choice of a female life partner generally and this new Maggie, in particular, wore the new identity of bisexual with the same ease and confidence she did most things. Her 'coming out' had consisted of two sentences in an email.

 

Her musings over Sydney Katz specifically had been far more lengthy.

 

Neither of them put much stock in the mystical twin bond, but his sister had always been an open book to him.

 

Maggie had never really been as much of a casual rule breaker, rebel as she liked to pretend. Sure, she took the spontaneous trips to South America, she became a groupie of a no name band far too young, but Declan knew for a fact she mailed in all her assignments on time and took correspondence classes on anatomy while the rest of them were getting various degrees of high.

 

Maggie had two passions:

 

Medicine and Community

 

Her science and Her People

 

Sydney was both those incarnate.

 

"It's she amazing?"

 

Sydney was giving a lecture "Pathways to Medicine: A Jewish Reflection." Even though he wasn't in the field in question, Declan had to agree. His future sister in law was engaging and witty in all the right places.

 

"I wish we had lecturers like that in school. You wouldn't have been the only Lin on the honor roll" he whispered back.

 

"I don't. If Sydney had been teaching me, I wouldn't have passed a single paper. It's a miracle I survived her supervision without putting hearts on the margins of lab reports and proposed in the theater."

 

Declan knew she was only half joking - having been on the receiving end of much of the major swooning.

 

**Penance: The Week Before**

 

"I had dreams for my child, you know?"

 

They were lying together in bed, limbs tangled together and pleasantly sated and soothed in each other.

 

Sydney hummed encouragement as she stroked Maggie's hair and rested on her shoulder.

 

She had decided against the traditional week-long separation between betrothed couples. The meaning behind it didn't apply when their lives were already so intertwined.

 

 

27 years was a very long time to be repressed and touched starved.

 

 

Besides Syd did not need to excel in her psychiatry rotation to suspect that aspects of Maggie's past would haunt her.

 

"Things were so uncertain with Gavin. He was too infected with wanderlust and conflicted about his parents to settle, but the baby was wanted. I just have to keep saying it out loud before she is lost to the universe, does that make sense?

 

"Of course and no matter where we go or when our family expands. There will be a place for Baby Lin - we can even make a tribute box or plant a remembrance tree - whatever you want, whenever you want.”

 

"Thank you. I love you so very much" Maggie whispered

 

"Remember she is in my heart too simply by being your child. She won't be forgotten, whoever she was to become she is now in the fabric of my memory too, and Jewish women remember well and revive the life that was. I didn't just sign the T’nayim (contract) and Rosemary didn't break a plate just for the easy times."

 

 

 

**Plotting: The Night Before**

 

“Are you ok, Maggie?”

 

It was a rhetorical question Rosemary O’Neil – Lin was half convinced her eldest twin was in danger of fainting. Declan was eying his sister suspiciously as she seemed to momentary lose the ability to use chopsticks mid noodle bite.

 

Much to her brother's dismay, Maggie had firmly rejected any form of a pre-wedding party, wild or otherwise. Rather surprisingly her request had been a simple meal just the three of them with her favourite foods from childhood.

 

Rosemary had put on a spectacular feast; complete with hazelnut cheesecake and her grandmother's ginger slices.

 

"I was just struck by the notion that next time we have a family meal. We will have a new member, and I will have a new name. It has been the three of us for so long" Maggie explained with a sad yet happy smile.

 

"Dad would have been proud of you sis. You know that right, Gigi?" Declan said with uncharacteristic seriousness. His nickname for her was a combination of Maggie's traditional Chinese name and an inability to pronounce 'M' as a child.

 

"The illustrious Dr. Katz would have met even his high standards for career excellence. Far more so than the marginally talented guitarist for 'Satan Ascending'"

 

"No Maggie, Sydney would have met your father's high standards for making his only daughter genuinely happy." her mother corrected gently.

 

 

Maggie somewhat shyly asked them to stay as she did the ritual purification before the wedding and practiced the words that she would say the next morning. Oddly the cadence and rhythm reminded her most strongly of learning Mandarin with their adored grandmother.

 

All three were crying by the end of it.

 

**Perception: The Night Before**

 

“Hello Sydney”

 

Sydney had expected to see a few people on the eve of her wedding for prayers and reflection; in fact, she had been overwhelmed by congratulations and small tokens. For the first time, Syd felt like she wasn't living a half life in her community, they were actually embracing her path and her choice to live so openly.

 

Not with her brother in law

 

Samuel Friedman

 

"Samuel, what are you doing here, is Becca Ok? Is everything alright with Aaron?" Sydney asked in rapid fire Hebrew already mentally preparing to call Maggie and running through possible diagnosis.

 

Becca had stubbornly insisted on defying their family and had every intention of coming to the wedding with or without her uncertain husband.

 

"You're intended wife saved my son" she had said when Syd had protested. Syd had all but cried at the acknowledgment of Maggie's status.

 

A last minute infection had derailed those plans.

 

"They are both fine, Syd. The infection is under control just as you said” Samuel seemed uncomfortable in the Reformist Synagogue with its more liberal dress codes and gender customs, but his smile was genuine.

 

"But we wanted to acknowledge your special day" Sydney didn't fail to notice the emphasis on the collective pronoun.

 

Sydney had been wary of her sister's choice in a husband; the Friedmans had been family friends for years. Their union borders uncomfortably on an arranged marriage. However, he did seem like a genuinely nice man who wasn’t controlling or demeaning to Becca in the least.

 

In fact, when the oldest Katz sister (always prideful of her appearance) had repeatedly begged him to divorce her and find someone fertile once her hair fell out he had refused; Merely wiping the vomit from her lips.

 

"I have loved you since we were 5. Nothing will change that" Samuel had asked Syd for a crash course in chemo sparing no details.

 

He could have easily forbidden Becca to have anything to do with the effectively shunned Sydney, but he did not, even going so far as arguing with their brother who floated the idea of saying Shiva.

 

Syd still took the package nervously.

 

Inside was a beautifully worked lace shift to be worn under the main dress; the patterning was similar to what they had discussed over Skype. There was a second package with Maggie's name on it in neat handwriting.

 

"Becca's hands are still shaky, so I had to help with some of the finer details- they may be shoddy” he joked "I am no surgeon to my mother's shame."

 

Sydney wiped away happy tears and embraced him fiercely, rendered speechless by the gesture.

 

"The second is a Tichel for Maggie. She will need to wear it when you come to observe Aaron's birthday next year and the ceremonies to come" he whispered comfortingly.

 

Sydney prided herself on knowing what to say in most given situations be it inside or outside medicine, but for this joy, there were no words.

 

The joy of acceptance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Proclamations: The Wedding**

Her dad would have loved Sydney.

 

Maggie has this idle wistful thought as she and Sydney were guided to the chuppah. The canopy was beautifully decorated and matched Syd's dream layout entirely.

 

Her geek of a wife had made it into an exercise in marathon geometry, getting the positioning just right.

 

She used to write imaginary letters to the senior Dr. Lin talking through cases and academic progression as if he was just on a business trip. There were at least 10 detailing Dr. Katz and their evolving relationship.

 

He would have written back with a Chinese myth about seeking and finding your soulmate.

 

As she gazed at their carefully intermingled witnesses, the absence of either father was hard not to notice.

 

Owen and Declan were doing a lovely job of representing the families as they stood either side of the canopy with matching beaming smiles on their faces.

 

Sydney looked beautiful. Her dress made mostly to strict Jewish customs was long and flowing and offset her skin and hair perfectly. The complete sleeves held a pattern of flowers, and the motif was repeated throughout the dress. The customary veil was absent, but Syd's hair was done in an intricate setting with lace and beadwork.

 

Syd had confessed what ultimately sold it for her was the ability to move comfortably and not worry about tearing anything. You don't get through medical school and residency without a firm appreciation for such things.

 

Maggie was just happy to watch the study in happiness that was her wife's face with an obstructed view.

 

 

 

**Polarity: The Wedding**

 

 

27 steps down the aisle to the canopy

 

15 Minutes to the prayers and blessing

 

5 minutes to say the vows and contract signing.

 

Sydney Katz had imaged her wedding countless times. When they were children, Becca used to chide the youngest Katz for possessing no sense of romance or sentimentality. It wasn't true, Syd had her dream wedding planned out since she was nine. To the point that she'd had to hastily change the gender of her lab partner when Becca found her notebook.

 

Now it was happening beyond her wildest hopes.

 

With Maggie who had quite literally been her the girl of her dreams for 2190 days and nights give or take some marathon 72-hour shifts.

 

As they circled each other, Sydney was smiling so broadly and Maggie looked equally thrilled, although Syd suspected that she was silently listing the steps, so she didn't miss a movement. Sydney could almost hear Abraham willing his favourite student on; beaming with pure joy.

 

As the greeting occurred, Sydney broke slightly with custom and squeezed Maggie's hand in reassurance and refused to let go.

 

The vows were a mixture of traditional and egalitarian. There was no way liberal Maggie was ever going to consent to 'possessing her' or to be 'given her' so the language was changed to reflect an equal exchange, but it was no less beautiful or meaningful. Maggie had requested quite strongly that the Book of Ruth be incorporated in some way.

 

Their Rabbi had written the amendments without question or overt comment, even though Syd's feminist/relationship based interpretation of the passages was divisive in the faith.

 

Her mother would have been horrified at how many 'secular concessions' she had made, but Sydney had never felt more at peace both as a person and a practitioner of the Jewish faith.

 

The seven blessings of gratitude had never felt more real to her.

 

As Owen and Declan played their ritual roles as guards for the time alone adjacent to the ceremony room, it suddenly struck her.

 

"Do you think it is physiologically possible to be overwhelmed by happiness?" She asked idly as they cuddled together, taking a breather from the intensity of the day.

 

"I don't know, Dr. Katz - Lin but I have a feeling we will be testing that theory at various points today. Maybe we should write opinion piece for the Canadian Medicine Association?"

 

"Say that again?" Syd requested as she pulled back from a tender kiss.

 

Maggie laughed obligingly

 

"Are you 100% sure I can't touch your lovely hair, Dr. Katz - Lin?"

 

"Ah, Dr. Lin but you don't intend just to touch, you desperately want to play with my hair. This is an important distinction when we still have photos to take and guests to entertain. Sophie would be heartbroken if it didn't last the night" referring to Owen's hairdresser wife who had all but cried with joy when asked to assist in the preparations.

 

Maggie turned out to have something of a fetish when it came to Syd's hair. Many of her expressions of affection revolved around either stroking her hair absentmindedly or brushing it out every night before bed.

 

Her wearing a wig had never really been a serious consideration, but it could have turned into a breaking point.

 

"Sophie and I are tight - she would understand" Maggie argued. "I mean look at you!"

 

Syd laughed "I doubt she looks at me the same way you do, Love."

 

"Give me 6 hours, and then you can lay claim to my hair for a long as you wish" Sydney promised solemnly.

 

"Just your hair?" Maggie teased

 

"I intend to lay claim to every aspect of your body and soul. Reciprocation is expected, nay demanded."

 

"Yes Ma'am"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Priorities: Ten Months Later**

 

Dr. Sydney Katz-Lin had been under strict instructions not to interfere.

 

They had hammered this out early in Maggie’s pregnancy. Together the couple had jointly selected one of the top OBs in London. Sydney had promised faithfully to enact the role of a wife and not a clinician. They had both seen far too many micromanaging doctors in their time who questioned everything and attacked every move.

 

Neither had quite forgiven Dr. Storme for both his sanctions and the unintended consequences.

 

Dr. Katz liked and respected Dr. William Foster-Bearing.

 

They had been colleagues for years.

 

Predictably though, Syd had managed to stay silent for just under 5 minutes before releasing a tirade of questions during their first consultation.

 

Then Will had updated the policy and restricted his colleague to one 'doctor question' per visit and one 'doctor rant' per trimester.

 

Maggie had teased her about them having to learn to speak like regular people again.

 

Now, fortunately, her role couldn't have been more clear and undivided. Maggie was scared, really scared. The high-risk OB and the woman who had once lost a child were making a dangerous combination in her head. Pregnancy heightened the propensity to migraines she had carried since the accident. The complexity of labour had reached an already bad situation and had progressed to the next level.

 

Knowledge, intense pain, fear were creating a vicious cycle.

 

"I can't do this Syd."

 

"Yes, you can. Just keep breathing, my darling, follow my pattern. Our nippers are under control - I only beat William at fetal monitoring by a few points. They are in good hands, and everybody here is playing their role to perfection - including you."

 

 

"High praise Doctor Katz-Lin." Maggie's laugh alternated between heavy breathing but it was genuine.

 

"I wouldn’t let it go to my head, Syd." William joked as he monitored her dilation and listened to the nurses as they read out the fetal heart monitors.

 

In the end, they had used both their eggs which naturally increased their chances of twins considerably, and they had both instantly detected the second heartbeat on the ultrasound. Maggie was only slightly disappointed by the reduction in the red headed gene possibilities.

 

Baby Boy Katz- Lin One had developed with textbook milestones

 

Baby Boy Katz-Lin Two had developed predictable complications and was going to be the smaller twin

 

Sydney had many diagrams and projection charts.

 

It was time to put the theory of their best project into live action practice.

 

The twins were here.

 

 

**Peacefully: 6 Year Later**

The scene before him was one of his greatest joys

 

Abraham had not intended to become a champion for diversity and inclusion in his faith. However, like the best things he believed this to be preordained. It had been a long and often controversial journey, many had decried his work, and his wife lost family members, but they both remained steadfast. From comforting that first tormented youth on the brink who begged to be 'cured' to witnessing the young family before him.

 

Gideon and Asher Katz - Lin were cheerfully bombarding Maggie with tales of their adventures with 'Uncle Abie.". There was the characteristic bilingual jumble as they competed for attention

 

Maggie had only been gone for the length of a double shift that did not seem to matter.

 

"I couldn't be more blessed" Sydney whispered softly, adding an almost reflexive prayer in Hebrew.

 

This peace, like all peace, was hard earned.

 

Sydney had confided in him in precise detail just how fragile and bleak her mental state had been at various points in her younger life, especially after the banishment of her childhood friend and unrequited sweetheart.

 

Sydney Katz was almost prodigiously talent in all things; including, sadly, finding inventive ways to torment herself

 

Over the years Abraham had filled many roles for his younger friend;

Confesser, Confident and Absolutist. Fortunately, her self-recrimination, determined though it was, was no match for his decades of scholarship and conviction.

 

He had been craving his arguments before Sydney was forming words.

 

"Maggie got her wish - they both have your hair for sure. No lightening either of them"

 

"She was in danger of doing cartwheels in the corridor," she said with a laugh before moving to join her family.

 

Blessed indeed.

 

 

 


End file.
